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TO: Mayor Irvin and City Council
FROM: Mike Nelson
Director of Special Events
DATE: February 14, 2024
SUBJECT:
Special Event Application Fees
PURPOSE:
To establish the application fees for special event permits.
Consideration by the Committee of the Whole as "New Business" is proper under Sec. 2-122 (c)(3) [subject matter involves the jurisdiction of two committees (Finance and RAP)] and (c)(4) [consideration is urgent due to passage of revisions of special events ordinance/approaching special events season].
BACKGROUND:
In 2018, the City Council created Chapter 41.5 of the Code of Ordinances which established the modern framework for how the City manages the permitting of special events. Chapter 41.5 provided that the City Council shall determine the amount of the special event application fees by resolution. The last time the Council addressed these fees was in 2019.
On February 13, 2024, the City Council adopted Ordinance O24-013 which made significant changes to the application review processes. Among the changes adopted by the City Council, which the Law Department concluded was necessary given established First Amendment precedent in the Seventh Circuit was a significant shortening of the application period and review time that the Division of Special Events, and other departments have, to process applications. Now, an applicant may apply to host a complex Tier 1 event as little as thirty (30) days in advance of the proposed date and the City must ordinarily grant or deny the application (if it is complete) within ten (10) business days of application. The Ordinance does, however, permit the City and the applicant to negotiate more generous time periods for review and expressly contemplates the City offering discounted rates for applicants who submit their application sooner rather than later.
Though we believe that it is unlikely that a serious event organizer would wait until the last minute to apply for a permit to host a complex special event, such as a parade (given the logistics the applicant, rather than the City, is responsible for), the Division wants to encourage applicants to apply for their events as soon as possible. This will help ensure that both the City and the applicant have ample time to prepare for and work through the myriad of issues associated with staging a successful event. Further, the incentive is designed to help afford the City additional time to recruit its own personnel to staff the event when the nature of the duties require the participation by City employees.
DISCUSSION:
The current special event application fee is $25. The previous application deadlines under the ordinance were ninety (90) days for a Tier 1 event, sixty (60) days for Tier 2 and Tier 3 events, forty (45) days for Tier 4 events, and thirty (30) days for Tier 5 events. The application deadline for a Tier 6 event was and remains seven (7) days.
The proposed resolution maintains the $25 application fee if an application is submitted 1) in accordance with the previous deadlines or 2) the applicant and the City agree to a longer review and approval period than set forth in the ordinance.
The Police Department and the Division of Special Events estimates that EACH will spend the following amount of time reviewing an application.
- For Tier 1 (except circuses and carnivals): 2 hours
- For Tier 1 (circuses and carnivals): 1 hour
- For Tier 2: 90 minutes
- For Tier 3: 60 minutes
- For Tier 4: 30 minutes
- For Tier 5: 30 minutes
- For Tier 6: Nominal
In each instance, the fee is based on the hourly salary of the staff members primarily responsible for the review multiplied by the average number of hours required to conduct the review. Review of most applications are conducted by a sergeant in the Police Department and by the Director of Community Events. In 2024, the base salary of a sergeant is $62.12 per hour. The 2024 midpoint salary (Step 7) of the Director of Community Events, currently graded at E16, is $51.85.
Based on these estimations, and without consideration of the time spent by other departments in conducting their own review of applications when necessary, the proposed fee schedule for 2024 is as follows when the calculations are rounded up to the next $5 increment:
- For Tier 1 (except circuses and carnivals): $245
- For Tier 1 (circuses and carnivals): $125
- For Tier 2: $185
- For Tier 3: $125
- For Tier 4: $65
- For Tier 5: $65
- For Tier 6: $0
The Resolution authorizes and directs Director of Community Events to adjust these rates every January to reflect changes to these hourly salaries, rounding up to the nearest $5 increment. This fee cannot and is not intended to be revenue generating for the City, and in establishing it, the City recognizes that it still not recouping all of its costs associated with application review. Rather, the fees set by this schedule are intended to incentivize advance planning and collaboration with City staff - two things which are strong indicators of successful special events.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
Since the Division wants to encourage a collaborative approach to special event planning with ample time for both the City and the applicant to do the things required to make each event successful, the Division hopes and expects that there will be little financial impact to the City or event applicants as a result of this Resolution. The higher rates authorized by this Resolution will only impact applicants which submit their applications close in time to the event and who are unwilling to work with the City on a modified review schedule.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Resolution be adopted.
cc: Rules Administration and Procedures Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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A Resolution establishing the application fees for special events permits issued under Chapter 41.5 of the Code of Ordinances.
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, Section 41.5-130 of the Code of Ordinances provides that the City Council shall from time-to-time establish application fees for special event permits, which shall be non-refundable and reasonably related to the staff time and resources required to review and process the application; and
WHEREAS, said section further provides that City Council may authorize a reduced application fee for applicants which submit complete special event applications prior to the deadlines set forth in the Code of Ordinances; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that Tier 1 events, other than circuses or carnivals, ordinarily require one hundred twenty (120) minutes of review by staff in the Division of Special Events and one hundred twenty (120) minutes of review by staff in the Police Department; and
WHEREAS the City Council finds that Tier 1 events, that are circuses or carnivals, ordinarily require sixty (60) minutes of review by staff in the Division of Special Events and sixty (60) minutes of review by staff in the Police Department; and
WHEREAS the City Council finds that Tier 2 events, ordinarily require ninety (90) minutes of review by staff in the Division of Special Events and ninety (90) minutes of review by staff in the Police Department; and
WHEREAS the City Council finds that Tier 3 events ordinarily require sixty (60) minutes of review by staff in the Division of Special Events and sixty (60) minutes of review by staff in the Police Department; and
WHEREAS the City Council finds that Tier 4 and Tier 5 events ordinarily require thirty (30) minutes of review by staff in the Division of Special Events and thirty (30) minutes of review by staff in the Police Department; and
WHEREAS, the City Council determines that the application fee for special events shall be determined based upon the sum of the number of hours of review ordinarily required for the classification of events multiplied by the hourly midpoint salary of the employee position in the Division of Special Events and the base salary of a sergeant in the Police Department responsible for conducting the application review as determined by the applicable pay plan or collective bargaining agreement, respectively, with the total rounded to the nearest dollar amount evenly divisible by five (5); and
WHEREAS, the City Council determines that for the purposes of the calculation described above, the review of the an application by the Division of Special Events will be conducted by an employee classified as the Director of Community Events (or such successor classification) and the review of an application by the Police Department will be conducted by an employee with the rank of sergeant; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that it is convenient and efficient to offer an application fee of $25 to incentivize to submit complete applications for special event permits at least ninety (90) days prior to a proposed Tier 1 event, sixty (60) days prior to a proposed Tier 2 or Tier 3 event, forty-five (45) days prior to a proposed Tier 4 or Tier 5 event, and to waive the permit fees for applicants applying to host a Tier 6 event at least thirty (30) days in advance of the proposed event; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that it is convenient and efficient to offer the same early application incentive to applicants who apply for a special event permit in advance of the deadline set forth in the Code of Ordinances and which enter into a written agreement with the coordinator of special events to extend the time period for review provided by Sec. 41.5-132 of the Code of Ordinances; and
WHEREAS, a proposed schedule of fees is attached to this Resolution as Exhibit A
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: that the fee schedule attached to this Resolution as Exhibit A shall be and hereby is adopted; and further
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Director of Community Events shall be and hereby is authorized and directed to make such adjustments to the fee schedule set forth in Exhibit A to take effect on January 1, 2025 and every year thereafter in conformity with the pay plans or collective bargaining agreements then in effect; and further
BE IT RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall not affect the fees assessed for the review complete applications submitted prior to its adoption; and further
BE IT RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall become effective upon its adoption and approval.